FOXBORO – The ominous signs were all there, lit up in front of the Jets like a blindingly bright neon sign cutting through the darkness of night.

You just knew.

You knew midway through the third quarter when the Jets failed to score a touchdown after a Chester McGlockton forced fumble gave their offense the ball on the Patriots’ 13-yard line. The Jets would settle for a 30-yard Doug Brien field goal to tie the game at 9-9.

You knew several minutes later when Jets’ strong safety Sam Garnes failed to intercept a Kevin Faulk halfback option pass that hit him between the 4 and 2 on his jersey.

You knew on the very next play, when Jets’ cornerback Ray Mickens was called for a pass interference penalty while covering Troy Brown in the end zone. That gave New England a first down on the Jets’ one-yard line, from where the Patriots would score a play later.

Then on the first play of the fourth quarter, you knew for sure.

That’s when Patriots’ rookie cornerback Asante Samuel stepped in front of a Vinny Testaverde pass to Wayne Chrebet, picked it off after bobbling it several times and returned it 55 yards for his first career touchdown on his first career interception for a 23-9 New England lead.

The Jets would come back, score a touchdown, cut the New England lead to 23-16 and display a flicker of life, a sliver of heart, but that’s where it would end, leaving the Jets mired in an 0-3 hole and utterly demoralized.

Testaverde called it a “sickening feeling.”

Herman Edwards conceded that his team is “struggling right now.”

“When you’re losing, everything hurts,” added Curtis Martin (15-53 rushing). “You’re in pain until you win a game. This is the worst I’ve felt and our team has felt this year. This just seemed like a game we were supposed to win.”

Since the NFL went to a 12-team playoff format in 1990, only three teams have recovered from 0-3 to reach the playoffs. Only five teams have overcome 0-3 to earn a postseason berth since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970.

Those are the daunting odds the Jets face today as they now prepare themselves to play Bill Parcells’ Cowboys Sunday at Giants Stadium, a game they have to win or they’ll stagger into their bye week winless at 0-4.

Yesterday, the Jets squandered a litany of opportunities, any one of which, if converted, might have been enough to win the game. Here’s a look at the Jets’ afternoon of lost opportunity:

* With the game tied 6-6 in the second quarter, Chrebet inadvertently stepped out of bounds before catching a 32-yard TD pass. The score was nullified and the Jets ended up punting the ball away.

“It [stinks],” Chrebet said. “I was completely unaware I’d gone out of bounds until I saw the flag.”

* With the Jets trailing 9-6 in the third quarter, Jets’ WR Curtis Conway let a sure TD pass slip through his hands at the goal line on third-and-nine from the 12, forcing the Jets to settle for a FG to tie it at 9-9.

* Late in the fourth quarter with the Jets trailing 23-16, Jets’ LB Sam Cowart dropped a sure INT that, if caught, would have given the Jets the ball on the New England 40.

“I’ve got to make that play,” Cowart said. “That could have changed the outcome of the ball game.”

If any one of those plays is converted, the Jets might be 1-2 today with hope of turning their early poor start into a winning streak.

“You’ve got to catch those, because if you don’t you can’t get them back,” Edwards said of the dropped INTs and passes. “When you’re winning, you make those plays. But that’s what happens when you’re playing the way we are. We’ve got to make a play to get some energy in us.”

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THE LEGEND OF ZERO

Pats’ Asante Samuel’s (right) fourth-quarter INT return for TD sealed Jets’ third straight loss of year. Here’s a look at the other seasons in which the Jets started at least 0-3: